At that moment, everyone was stunned.
Whether it was Mash or the others in Chaldea, all shared the same expression.
Even Ishtar, who had collapsed on the ground looking completely exhausted, suddenly trembled all over and abruptly lifted her head.
"What did you say?" Ishtar exclaimed in astonishment. "You said Ereshkigal is the final pillar of the Three Goddess Alliance? That Ereshkigal? She's manifested too? That's impossible! You're kidding, right!?"
Ishtar couldn't help but cry out.
And that was understandable.
After all, Ishtar had once descended into the Underworld, lost all her Authority there, and was ultimately dismembered by Ereshkigal.
Hearing her name now, and learning that she had manifested, it was only natural for Ishtar to be shocked on the spot.
Only…
"W-Wait! Senpai!"
Mash hurriedly spoke up.
"Isn't there something wrong here? I mean, wasn't the last pillar of the Three Goddess Alliance supposed to be Miss Ishtar?"
You couldn't blame Mash for saying that.
Previously, Ishtar had appeared before Rozen and the others claiming to be one of the Three Goddess Alliance.
During the battle against Gorgon in the northern cedar forest, Ishtar showed up alongside Quetzalcoatl, and not only claimed to be one of the Alliance, but the other two goddesses also treated her as a fellow member. There was absolutely no mistake.
Even back at the Chaldean Embassy, the time when Rozen had that dream about the white giant and got up early, didn't he meet Ishtar in the first-floor hall and talk about the Three Goddess Alliance?
At that time, Ishtar also spoke with Rozen as a member of the Three Goddess Alliance and even said that if he wanted to defeat her, she'd be ready anytime.
And now, Rozen suddenly said that Ishtar wasn't part of the Alliance. That was far too unbelievable.
Mash had no idea...
"Actually, I've been suspicious since the first day we met Ishtar."
Rozen said this.
"Don't forget, the reason we encountered Ishtar when we first arrived in this era was because Kingu, who was impersonating Enkidu, tricked us into going to her."
At that time, there was no doubt that Kingu intended to use Ishtar's hand to eliminate Rozen, the last Master of humanity.
But when you think carefully, wasn't that incident strange?
"If Ishtar were truly one of the Three Goddess Alliance, Kingu would have had no reason to use her to eliminate us, right?"
Even if they weren't allies, the Three Goddess Alliance had made a pact of non-aggression. As long as Kingu didn't want to break that pact, he shouldn't have openly used a goddess of the Alliance like that—so blatantly—to attack, which ultimately led to Ishtar being captured by Rozen.
That attitude was already suspicious.
Moreover...
"Do you remember what Ishtar said when we first met face-to-face in the Tower of the Gods in Uruk?"
Rozen looked at Mash, as if trying to awaken her memory.
"At that time, she said something like: 'Who are you? A face I've never seen before, and you seem quite special. You're probably not from Uruk, right?'"
Not only that, when she learned that Rozen came from Chaldea and from the future, her attitude was indifferent.
What does that imply?
It means she didn't know about Chaldea's existence or recognize the last Master of humanity.
And that, was strange.
"Kingu knew about us. Gorgon too. Even Quetzalcoatl knew. That proves that the Three Goddess Alliance, as a force standing against humanity, all knew about Chaldea and what we were."
Rozen stated plainly.
"If Ishtar were truly one of the Alliance, then her ignorance and indifference wouldn't make any sense."
Exactly.
Plus, the monsters attacking from the northeast were of undead nature, completely unrelated to Ishtar's powers—another clue among many that all pointed to one conclusion.
The conclusion being that Ishtar was not a member of the
"And whether it was last time or this time, when she fought us, Ishtar never used her Authorities, and didn't even display half her strength. She held back the entire time. That alone proves she didn't actually see us as enemies."
All signs ultimately pointed to this truth.
The only question left was...
"Then, who was the 'Miss Ishtar' that appeared before us claiming to be one of the Three Goddess Alliance...?"
Mash asked in confusion.
Not just that time in the cedar forest when all three goddesses appeared, but also the time when Rozen spoke to the strangely gentle Ishtar at the Chaldean Embassy—both instances clearly showed she was acting as a member of the Alliance.
If Ishtar wasn't a pillar of the
The answer was simple.
"That wasn't Ishtar," Rozen said with absolute certainty. "It was Ereshkigal occupying Ishtar's body and acting through her."
Because Ereshkigal couldn't leave the Underworld. And if she wanted to act on the surface, she'd need a vessel.
And who better than Ishtar?
The reason was simple.
"Ishtar and Ereshkigal are probably sisters—or rather, two aspects of the same divine being."
Rozen explained.
"Both Ishtar and Ereshkigal are earth mother goddesses."
"Ishtar governs the harvest of grain, and is the Earth Mother of life."
"Ereshkigal governs the decay of plants, and is the Earth Mother of death."
"Ishtar is a being of 'life' and 'sky,' the Mistress of the Heavens."
"Ereshkigal is a being of 'death' and 'earth,' the Mistress of the Underworld."
"These two divine aspects mirror each other—like light and darkness, sky and earth, up and down, left and right. It's highly likely that in ancient times, they were one god who split into two."
As previously mentioned, around 10,000 years before this era—about 14,000 years before the modern age—the gods of the prehistoric civilizations were closer to primal concepts, almost like primordial spirits.
After the destruction of prehistoric civilization and the great slaughter of the gods, the Age of Gods began to decline. Gods grew weaker, and eventually took the forms recorded in today's myths.
Back in those ancient times, Ishtar and Ereshkigal may have been one and the same, only to split after the catastrophe.
Thus, the two were not just sisters, but also each other's other half.
Under such circumstances, Ereshkigal could partially possess Ishtar's body and manifest on the surface.
"I think the Ishtar we see during the day is the real one, but once night falls, Ereshkigal uses her body to appear."
Rozen's explanation left everyone dumbfounded.
Even Ishtar was no exception.